In the Town of Dissolution
by hayyyrosie
Summary: President Snow sends Katniss and Peeta the gift of desire on their wedding night. Written for Prompts in Panem, Day 7: "Jonquil." Canon-divergence.


Notes: Written for Prompts in Panem, Day 7: "Jonquil."

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By the time their wedding ceremony is over, Katniss' feet are aching from wearing heels for over ten hours and her cheeks tired from the smile she has had plastered on. She clasps Peeta's hand and leans in quietly, whispering to him that she wants to leave. He smiles and nods, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. The Capitol-laden crowd cheers, and President Snow raises his glass in salute to the newly married couple.

Hand-in-hand, they make their departure through the long line of guests. At the end of the procession, President Snow kisses both of them on the cheek. He whispers in Katniss' ear: "You'll find your wedding present at your hotel suite." A chill runs down her spine.

When they reach the beautifully appointed room, Katniss and Peeta find two tall glasses of a foaming red liquid sitting on a silver tray in the center of the bed. A gold-enameled card resting against the glasses reads: "Desire."

Katniss turns the card over and over in her hands. "What does it mean?" she asks Peeta.

He smiles at her sadly. "What do you think?"

She drops the card like it has burned her, then picks it up and chucks it at the mirror above the bed. Something in the mirror sizzles and Katniss freezes. "Peeta," she whispers, "do you think they're going to _film_ us?"

He moves to the mirror quickly, inspecting it carefully. He tries to take it off the wall and finds that it cannot be moved. "I… yes."

Katniss' heart drops and her palms start to sweat. She has been carefully _not _thinking about this part of their marriage, even as she has known that she and Peeta would clearly have to consummate it at some point. There are parts of her, deep down, that are intrigued by the possibility. Maybe even a little bit excited. But they've been pushed far, far down, replaced instead by an all-consuming fear that her actions will not be enough to save her loved ones.

And so it's with thoughts of Prim, and her mother, and Hazelle, and Gale, that Katniss grimly smiles and picks up one of the flutes. Peeta's eyebrows rise in surprise. "Katniss," he says softly, gently reaching out to take the glass from her hand and place it back down delicately. "We don't have to do this."

She picks it up again and gives it to him this time, taking the remaining one for herself. "Yes, we do, Peeta," she says firmly. "We said the vows. This is what they expect. This is what we have to do."

She raises the glass to him with a tight smile. "Cheers," she says and downs the entire contents in one gulp.

Peeta looks at the glass and then back at her. Slowly, he lowers it back down to the plate, untouched.

"Peeta," Katniss whispers sadly, reaching out and taking his hand. He doesn't meet her eyes.

They sit that way, hand in hand, on the bed for some time. Slowly, warmth spreads throughout Katniss' body, starting at her toes and working its way up. It settles somewhere near her core and resonates through to the point where her fingers connect with Peeta's.

The touch is no longer enough and she starts to stretch her body like a cat, leaning back down into the soft, plush blankets. She arches her back and tugs on their joined hands, pulling Peeta to rest on his side next to her. He holds himself stiff, barely touching her. Her mind is hazy, but she knows that the contact is not enough, so she turns so that she is facing him, pressed nose to nose.

"Peeta," she breathes, lifting his chin so that he meets her eyes. The pain she sees there shakes her to her very core, through the drug-induced fog of her mind. He doesn't respond, only stares back levelly, until she can't take looking at that agony anymore and she kisses him, just so that they don't have to speak.

The kiss is stiff at first and, if Katniss has ever felt inexperienced before, now she feels like the one moving things forward, driven by the "Desire" working its way through her system. Peeta resists at first, and then sighs as she presses her body against him. His hands find their way into her hair and they pull her head back, forcing her mouth to open.

He deepens the kiss then, and Katniss responds eagerly, moaning as his tongue darts out to tangle with hers. For several long minutes, they embrace like this, tongues and lips dancing.

Peeta moves his knee between Katniss' legs and his leg press up against her core. She hadn't realized how sensitive she was and a jolt of pleasure shoots through her as his knee brushes against the bundle of nerves between her legs. She murmurs, "Oh," into Peeta's mouth and he makes a noise like a hungry animal, pushing her down roughly over onto her back.

Now, it is Peeta taking charge, his strong hands moving up and down her body hungrily. They hesitate on her rib cage, just below her breasts, thumbs just brushing the underside of the two mounds. Katniss murmurs yes into Peeta's ear before licking its outline slowly and languidly. Peeta shudders and then reaches up quickly and pinches her swollen right nipple between his thumb and forefinger. She _moans_ now, arching her hips into his. When she does, she feels the hard length of his erection pressing through his pants and her eyes roll backwards into her skull and she sees stars.

She has already shed her cumbersome wedding dress, but the light slip that she wore underneath it is now too much, too. She reaches down to thumb the hem, starting to push it over her thighs. Peeta takes over, gently peeling the fabric over her head and lightly tossing it to the side.

She is naked underneath and for a moment, she lies there below him, his eyes tracing her curves appreciatively. "Katniss," Peeta whispers. "You are so beautiful."

And then the pain in his eyes is there again, and that, coupled with the intensity of her chemically induced desire, is too much to bear. So, she reaches up and drags his head to hers, biting his lower lip hard. "Touch me," she begs and Peeta spasms against her, his hands eagerly applying.

One is back at her breast, palms pressing against the pebbled nipple and squeezing the supple flesh. She reaches down and pulls his shirt out of the waistband of his pants, eager to touch flesh. She pulls it over his head and takes it from her, tossing it aside carelessly. She pulls him down onto her, hard, nails raking down his smooth, hard skin. He throws his head back and groans, before biting her firmly at the juncture where her shoulder meets her neck.

She cries out and moves to wrap her legs around his waist, determined to address the growing crescendo between her legs by rubbing herself up and down him. "Katniss," he says again, this time more of a growl than a prayer or a promise. "Can I touch you there?"

She can barely speak for lust and barely manages to choke out an assent before one hand is back at her breast and the other is between her legs. His palm presses into her, right there, and she mewls. He moves his thumb to press against that swollen mound of nerves and then she really does shriek, demanding more.

He shifts his hand to her entrance and gently pushes one finger inside her. "You are so wet," he whispers against her neck and now his eyes are hazy with lust, too. Dimly, she is aware that the potion must have altered her sense somehow, because this should hurt but doesn't. Instead, it just feels like too little.

"More," she says again, and he obliges, filling her with a second finger, and then a third. He starts to pump them in and out of her, slowly at first, and then quickly, thumb still pressing against her clit. She bucks against him and drags his other hand up to her breast, eyes shut as she thrashes blindly towards the building pressure. He moves his mouth down to suck her pebbled nipple and she sees stars. Then, he bites it and the ecstasy explodes, crashing over her body like waves.

She barely has time to breathe, is hardly aware as he pushes his pants down over his feet. They catch briefly on his fake leg and she realizes what is going on, reaching down between them to help her. He pushes her hand away and kicks the pants off, taking his penis into his hand and positioning it at her entrance.

She wants to touch him but he thrusts inside of her before she has the chance and her head falls back as he fills her, completely. He pushes in and out, quickly, eyes focused on the wall behind her. She is looking up at him and tries to bring his eyes to meet her, hands gently tugging on his light blonde hair.

When he finally drops his gaze to hers, she sees that he is silently crying and is just about to open her mouth to ask what is wrong when he squeezes his eyes shut and cries out, collapsing onto her, breathing hard.

She reaches up to rub his back but he rolls off, next to her. They fall asleep side-by-side, not touching.

It's not long before the nightmares come.

.

Katniss wakes up the morning after her wedding to an empty bed. There are two glasses on the nightstand, filled with a sparkling yellow drink. "Escape," the card reads.

One of the glasses is already empty.

She hesitates a moment. Then she reaches out and downs the other.


End file.
